Darkness Eternal

Chapter 1

My eyes split open...a muffled voice filled my ears as I was being dragged. I slowly moved my head and I saw blurry images of humans in gas masks? They were dragging me and the two ponies from what my blurred vision could make out. My eyes closed once more and I lapsed into unconsciousness.

When I awoke I was on a bed in a plain room. No windows a stairwell leading up allowed me to make out that I was in the cellar of someone's home. I cracked my neck as it turned releasing some pent-up tension. I quickly remembered the two ponies and looked for them. I found them curled up in the corner next to each other. They didn't seem to have any wounds from what I could tell. My hand went to my head when I noticed my helmet was still on, quickly I took it off and switched off the filters. "Dammit that can't be good for those." I set the helmet onto the bed next to me as I sat up fully and swung my legs off the bed.I noticed I had bandages over my both my arms and my right leg. I could see dried blood on them and I remembered what happened earlier. I was now betrayed and abandoned by the only people I cared for besides my uncle. I sighed and stood when I heard a quiet yawn from across the room. I looked to the two ponies one had just moved and yawned in its sleep. Thank god I thought to myself. I walked up the stairs and out into the cold air. The world dark and black, my eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness from the light of the basement I had just woken up in. Wait...Why am I not dead? I took five rounds from assault rifles. If anything I should be food for the mutants and not coming out of a person's basement in one fucking piece!

"Well I see your awake." I turned to see a man in a red shirt and a pair of faded jeans. He was holding an old cracked mug. "You got shot up didn't you STALKER?"

"Yeah I did."

"Well want to tell me what happened or are you gonna just head back to your STALKER HQ now?"

"I can't go back I broke the code." Most of the people who have heard of the STALKERs have heard of the code that the STALKERs live by the main rule you can kill or harm anyone but other STALKERs you cannot do anything to.

"Well what happened?" I spent the next ten minutes or so retelling the story up to the part where I fell unconscious on the floor of the apartment.

"Well it's lucky we found you when we did a pack of mutants weren't to far off when we got to you."

"Who's we?"

"My scavenging group and I of course. We go into the Dead Zone and scavenge stuff to sell." It was funny I knew people went into the Dead Zone and a lot of the time we shot those people so standing before one of them is quite ironic in my humor. "Well I'll probably take it you may want to sit down or something of the like before the painkillers wear off."

"What?" Suddenly a wave of searing pain washes over me. My muscles become stiff and the bullet wounds burn like hell. He sees me wince and stiffen so he walks over and helps me back into the basement. He gets me back to the cot I woke up on and I lay back down. He looks over to the two ponies, "You know what the hell those are?"

"No idea."

"Alright well I'll be upstairs if you need me."

"Could I get some food and you know what get me a shot of vodka."

"Alright." He chuckled as he left the room. When he came back he had a plate with some bread and a bottle of vodka and a shot glass. He set it on the bed and walked out. I poured a shot of vodka and downed it quickly the burn of the alcohol went along my throat but soon I felt its numbing effect and some of the pain disappeared. I ate the bread he left me and I had a few more shots. I'm a light drinker so I passed out not too long after.

When I woke up my vision was again blurry but I heard voices. "What is this thing Twilight?"

"I don't know Rainbow Dash." I started to move and I heard them yelp.

"Ugh..." I put my hand to my forehead protecting my eyes from the light of the room. I shook my head and my vision started to clear some. I saw the two ponies standing in front of me, frightened. "Uh...Hello?" I moved slightly to stand and they moved back. "It's ok I'm not going to hurt you." I stopped moving but reached my free hand out. I winced in pain when I extended the arm I looked to my right shoulder and their was another bandage. "Well that's the fifth bullet accounted for." They must have seen me wince in pain because I heard on speak up, "Are you ok?" I looked to them and the purple one had stepped forward and probably asked the question.

"I should be..." I tried to move my legs but they were too stiff and pain shot up through my legs. I winced again, "Are you sure?"

"Yes!" I yelled at them and they went back to a more scared posture. "I'm sorry I yelled at you it's just taking some bullets does hurt."

"Where are we?" The cyan pony asked more likely than not her name was Rainbow Dash as she seemed to fit the name.

"Your outside of Chernobyl. Also a question I have yet to ask, you two can talk?" They nodded.

"Yes we can...Is that not usual here."

"Of course not you two are ponies! Around her the only animals that talk are the parrots!"

"Parrots?"

"A bird don't worry about that." I waved my hand in expression and laid back resting my head on the pillow.

"So you said were outside of...Chernobyl was it? I never heard of such a place in Equestria."

"I've never heard of Equestria."

"What?"

"This is Earth you're in the Ukraine outside the dead city of Chernobyl."

"Earth?"

"A planet in space." I heard a quick startled squeal and the pattering of their hooves I would guess. "Were not in Equestria anymore!? Those unicorns told us this we would still be in Equestria!"

"Wait you said unicorns?"

"Yes."

"There are unicorns where you're from?"

"Yes of which I am one." Her hair was overly messy probably from laying amongst the ruins of the apartments. She moved her hair and a horn stuck out from her head. I was certainly shocked the other seemed to be stretching when she stretched were those wings?

"You have wings?" I pointed to Rainbow Dash.

"Of course I do I'm a pegasus!" My mind flipped over at this I shook my head.

"There is no fucking way! No this is gotta be a hallucination! We must have gotten attacked by the gas bags!" They looked at me confused, I continued to shake my head till I felt a hand er hoof be placed on my shoulder. "I don't think this is a dream..."

I looked up into the face of Rainbow Dash. "How can you be sure?" Twilight cleared her throat, "Well if this were a dream the pain of either the you being er shot..." She looked to the bandages, "Or the experience of waking up and seeing us would have woken you."

"You know I can't argue with that logic..." I sighed and stood shakily from the hangover I still had. I don't know where I am exactly, I no longer have access to STALKER HQ so I can't get any help but from the friends I have. Friends that's the key word as my social life is non-existent and the only friends I had were STALKERs this might be a little hard. He looked to the two ponies who were still staring at him, "Ok so what do you two want to do?"

"What?"

"Are you going to stay here with whomever these people are or are you going to come with me?" They looked to each other quickly. "I think well go with you."

"Alright well..." I started to walk out of the room as I stopped talking signaling for them to follow. I opened the door to the outside and it was a dreary morning or what you would call morning in the wastes outside Chernobyl. The sky was overcast and gray, and ground a dark brown with bushes everywhere no grass though the trees were all pine. I took a deep breath of air, surprisingly there wasn't too much smell of what the Dead Zone smelt like I looked off in its direction and could barely see it. Holy fuck they dragged me out this far. Damn these people are determined. "Well I see the two mutants are awake." I turned to see the same man from before I stepped forward and held out my hand, "I forgot to introduce myself last time."

"My name is Caville. And I know who you are Artiom. The STALKERs have your face up everywhere when they went to retrieve you and found you gone." He started to laugh then saw my puzzled expression. He jerked his head to the wall of the building which had a message board full of wanted posters. My face was all over it. "Fuck."